Multi-talented Hoyles to be honored with 2012 Prize of Hope at Dell'Arte

It's appropriate for Dell'Arte International to present the 2012 Prize of Hope as the company itself received the award in 2005. By doing so, they earned the honor of presenting it, every other year, at a ceremony in Blue Lake. Their first was given in 2008 to actor/activist Tim Robbins and The Actors Gang; in 2010 to Petrolia's Human Nature Theatre and, this year, to the wildly talented father/son duo of performers/writers, Geoff and Dan Hoyle. The pair create, tour and perform original theater works -- with each, in their own way, admiringly considered awesome performers. And, as father and son artists, have been lauded as a "multi-generational force for good whose work epitomizes the spirit of the Prize of Hope."

The "Prize of Hope" award honors the ongoing, outstanding work of the world's premiere live performance artists -- those who continue to make a difference, year after year, while sharing their visionary, independent, free spirits with audiences around the globe. Denmark's Institute for Popular Theatre established this unique international prize/award in 1987 "to recognize live theatre as a popular and accessible art form and work against the role of artists' passive consumerism."

"Geoff Hoyle has been an inspiration to Dell'Arte as long as we have known him -- all the way back to his days with San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus," said Joan Schirle, Dell'Arte's founding artistic director. "Since then, he's taught at Dell'Arte's school, lectured to our students and provided them with an example of a multitalented genius who can write, clown, direct and act in everything from a Broadway smash to political satire.

"He has always stood for justice and independent cultural production. He once told our students that virtuosity was the greatest political weapon, and he has proved this time and again. Through his genius, he has exemplified the actor/creator, unafraid to chart a non-corporate artistic path.

"It's also tribute to his spirit that he raised a family, developed a loyal Bay Area fan base through his many brilliant pieces as well as being featured in national shows like Broadway's 'Lion King', and appearances with the famous Cirque du Soleil troupe."

Hoyle's current, hilarious, original work, "Geezer," has played to sold-out houses for months at San Francisco's Marsh Theatre.

His son, Dan Hoyle, also has Dell'Arte ties, staging his first original solo show, "The Circumnavigator," at their Edgefest in 2004.

"It was clear that here was a young performer with 'a voice,' who knew what he wanted to say from the stage and was developing the skill to do it," Schirle said. "While it was a different kind of theater from his father's, it was nonetheless based in an extraordinary power of observation -- an ability to characterize and to champion the oppressed, the marginalized and the overlooked."

However, neither Geoff Hoyle nor Dan Hoyle will be overlooked by anyone lucky enough to be at this year's award ceremony, set for 4 p.m. Saturday in Dell'Arte's Carlo Theatre as part of a special Mad River Festival "prize package" that's available for the public to attend.

For $50 per person, those attending can enjoy a pre-ceremony dinner and drinks; an entertaining, Dell'Arte-style prize presentation to the winners; and the winners' bound-to-be-hilarious, equally entertaining response.

More drinks are available afterward to further celebrate the momentous occasion. Then, head outside to the Rooney Amphitheatre, take your package-included seats, and relax and enjoy the 8 p.m. performance of the festival's hit show, "Mary Jane: the Musical."

To make advance reservations for this fun-filled, prize package, call 668-5663 ext. 5 or email dharla@dellarte.com